Mauritius horse racing has now being held in hostage for one month, after one false start when the HRD announced that races would start on Saturday the 23rd of May, which the duly elected President ousted by the MSM government, Mr Giraud said this cannot happen has they did not have a horse racing license, worst that the MTC/MTCSL was yet to meet with the GRA and HRD team to find a win-win situation. With the countless blockages to the MTC/MTCSL horse racing organiser license and now the withdraw of their racetrack lease, the 2022 racing season is in serious jeopardy with all parties remaining inside the stalls. All stakeholders and the MTC staffs are very worried of their future, and what will happen if the club goes into insolvency. That would be a celebration for the executors of the MTC/MTCSL and the worst nightmare for the MTC/MTCSL staffs and members and all the hardworking grooms who’s pensions are at stakes here. They all fear this nightmare scenario which is so close to becoming a sad reality. We are just a few days from such horrific scenario which the MTC board and all their administrators fear the most.
Each time there is some light at the end of the tunnel, something new comes up to block the MTC/MTCSL from getting their license. As if it was all carefully planned to counter their every move. Just like their last low blow, when they were told they lost the lease which was broken without a committee of the municipality of Port Louis challenged by the ex Mayor who gave the new Mayor an earful to not to lecture him on how things works. For most it is clear what is the end goal here, partisans inside the government are against the MTC while some are for the MTC to organise races. This never ending tug of war which one party clearly wants to solely control horse racing in Mauritius without the MTC interfering, but will they be capable to manage a race meeting without the know-how, their staffs and their equipments?
The MTC/MTCSL now find themselves financially cornered and we hear they are begging to be on the negotiating table of their own executioner who’s license is ready as they are obviously backed by the authorities GRA/HRD. This has to be the biggest Mauritius horse racing scandal and perhaps globally. Where a government allows his biggest political funder, a bookmaker who is working in hand with the gambling and horse racing authorities to dictate an entire industry. If their actions, and those of the MTC are not clear who holds the key to the safe here, well one man will soon solely control this dying and bleeding industry.
Who is Mr Jean Michel Lee Shim (JMSL) ?
Well from reading and earring all stakeholders, he owns just about 100+ horses (new horses and retired), he deals with 8 out of 16 stables which he feeds each month, for some he is the saviour of horse racing in Mauritius and for others he is the one who is tarnishing horse racing with corrupting and bribing his way to the highest Government Authorities. This bookmaker which has many betting and gambling operations 300+ outlets known as SMS Pariaz, Lotterie Poupard, Lotterie Merven, Lotterie Blanc, PMU, plus his latest Media Temple, and an online distribution marketplace SMS.MU and other horse racing feeding companies. He is also the new owner of a brand new racetrack which they claim is for training only, yet massive 24/7 workforce are working to make it a new racecourse to accommodate stables and punters also. He is well known in Mauritius, but this article is for those who doesn’t know the man who his putting an entire industry on its knees. He is the one who financed the MSM Government and who is very close we say to the CEO of The People Turf – PTP PPC, the second horse racing organiser which their company already have been issued with a LOI – Letter of Intent which JMSL name keeps coming up on all conversations, on social media, on TV shows and inside the MTC board meetings.
What will happen to horse racing in Mauritius under such a power betting magnate?
Well, JMSL will obviously dictate the MTC/MTCSL and each stables horse racing tactics of his 100+ horses in each race, he will even have the leisure to dictate the betting odds of each horse at his will, making one of his a favourite to win or loose, or a competitor’s horse. There is no better time to waste and loose money at horse racing, being a punter or horse owner. Like so many MTC horse racing fans are saying, they killed horse racing and it will never be the same. And we are not talking about betting here, we are talking about the joy which this iconic and prestigious club brought to each and everyone who were lucky enough to ever experience this racetrack, the passion, the lounges, the stables and their loges, even the public grounds which are unique to Mauritius fans to say the least. Horse racing will forever be fixed by the will of one bookmaker who is too greedy and there is nothing we can do about it.
Or perhaps the impossible will happen as we are exposing this scandal internationally. Last week, the ex chief stipe Mr De Chalain’s car was seen at the headquarters of the new sheriff in town like some journalists are naming him, or the new PM of Mauritius has he has more power than the PM himself. All these allegations are getting repeated too often that the main gambling authority keeps ignoring, where is the GRA? No conflict of interest here? Is it normal that one bookmaker owns 100+ horses, 300+ betting outlets, has a say in 8 out of the 16 stables and has been given full power to build a casino inside the Champ De Mars and we hear wants to build new infrastructures for his new employees.
JMSL is very popular and he has some veterans and board members even employees all partisan inside the MTC/MTCSL who most are in favour to this new strategic partnership which they are claiming is their sole chance at surviving. Really, is to negotiate with your own executor a good strategy or a death wish?
The MTC/MTCSL next move is to negotiate with the betting magnate a Raceday Fee for each meeting for the usage of their assets and for the use of paddock. You bet that some MTC members, a few stables and their horse owners are against it, so is the oldest stable in Mauritius as apparently Mr Soun Gujadhur said, that he will close his stable if that happens.
All these latest desperate negotiations will further delay the start of the season which we now hear that the 28th of May is unrealistic and unachievable. Today will be a decisive day for the MTC and the future of racing what will happen next, history will be the sole proprietorship. Mauritius racing is now witnessing the next government hostile take down of a once profitable racecourse organiser, and industry which is in decline since 2019 when it took the highest paid PM job in the world, while his people are starving.
The betting turnover has been free falling since the Government introduced the 14% betting tax and all other measures which back fired on them.
- 2018 – Rs5.7B
- 2019 – Rs5.2B
- 2020 – Rs3.8B
- 2021 – Rs2.8B
- 2022 – Rs1.8B?
So who is loosing the most here?
Your well planned and premeditated series of illegal acts to hurt the MTC/MTCSL from operating and surviving and this another scandal and horse racing story will forever echo around the world where a Government with their Gambling and Horse racing authorities have jeopardised not only the MTC future in favour of a new comer backed by a betting magnate who’s dream to become a horse racing organiser without any experience and know-how will be shorted lived and be a total disaster.
We foresee that in the very near future that this scandal will be another failed government take down but an embarrassing and detrimental one to all parties and an entire industry. Just like the HRD paper bag video which showed the professionalism they all claim to have and worst the shady HRD CEO past like Mr Bernard Delaitre explained in the 17th edition of 2021 of the Turf Magazine, where they preferred Mr Wayne Wood instead of the expert from British Horse Racing Association who’s reputation is cleaner and irrefutable.
“Actions speaks louder than words.”
Who will get the horse 2022 racing license and the Champ De Mars lease to the racetrack?
Clearly not the MTC, a 210 years old horse racing organiser who had the sole privileged with a 20 lease year lease agreement revoked with all the help of the corrupt GRA and other officials which all claim the MTC/MTCSL are now in the red financially (because of who’s actions perhaps) after two years of closed circuit and from never ending attacks from this malicious and premeditated plan to take them down put them out of business and erase them from organising racing altogether. This will be your biggest mistake and probably the end of horse racing in Mauritius.
Will the horse racing fans accept such actions against their favourite entertainment, sport and leisure?
Will the hunger strike of the MTC grooms will end this madness?
Will we accept this second horse racing organiser backed by SMS Pariaz?
Will this back fire on his business and become a big white elephant?
So much is at stakes here, like we referred in precedent articles, both the MTC/MTCSL, the GVT/GRA/HDR/PTP/SMS Pariaz can all be the losers in this hostile power grab of the horse racing industry, all can loose here.
The state will be the biggest losers with not only betting revenues in decline but they will have to face the music from 300 MTC staffs and close to 4000 families without revenues from each season who all operate around the Champ De Mars and inside the racetrack to make ends meet and face the music from +500,000 angry horse racing fans. We can all see clearly what is really going on here and how it is going to end.
Why is the GRA and HRD so pro PTP and issued a second organiser LOI and we hear their license is ready to go?
Again, we are asking on what ground is a novice horse racing organiser is issued a license, because of their money? Or because of corruption which is the sole way of doing business here in Mauritius?
How can one organiser which has zero experience in horse racing, who’s CEO is a newly rich horse racing owner with a couple of victories, who himself claimed crowds shout racist words at his own families, can now claim they have a professional team to organise races without any experience, what a parody to say the least.
Why is the GRA/HRD a silent accomplice or should we call them the hit man of the MTC/MTCSL, when their organisation was put in place to fight corruption, the same corruption and ethic they are themselves not respecting and they violate, twist their own laws and protocols so they can favour one and tarnish the other. They don’t want to see any conflict of interest, when there are so many, when their own CEO is an appointed director in their new Cote D’or Horse Racing International Complex, a so called private real estate entertainment company which when asked is there is no conflict of interest he replies: “When the times comes he will remove himself from such board meetings, and decisions.” Sir, who are you fooling here, himself, even the presenters were smiling and seeing though the lies.
“You can fool the people’s once, but you cannot fool them all the time.”
Will the MTC accept to partner with the PTP, defying the oldest stable in Mauritius threats to close their stable if the betting magnate becomes the new landlord of both the racetrack and which they themselves own part of the MTC infrastructures at Champ De Mars.
Will horse racing in Mauritius be the same?
Never!
Is it fair to say that betting on horses will be a fair game when one bookmaker who owns 100+ horses in 8 out of 16 stables, has the phone numbers of all their jockeys which he will clearly give his directives and lets call it fix racing in his favour. Well, unless you are connected and are working closely on the inside you will not win.
Not the punters, not the other 8 stables competing for passion and not the other horse owners. The betting magnate will make it rain or have the sun shining for his own horses, and others favourites he wants to pocket from the heavy betting as on paper the horse is the banker of the day, so he can cash in.
His reach and influence inside 8 out of 16 stables, will make horse racing unfair if not calling his own game where he pulls all the strings, with the GRA and HRD also behind him, any future cheating and rules of racing contesting will be overruled, and again all will be in his favour. He will decide which jockey rides where, which horses wins or looses, which horse will be able to lead or which horse will be boxed in purpose to diminish his chance to win. He will have his way with his own betting odds and all has happened for the past while the GRA is turning a blind eye and will not uphold the very laws they are supposed to protect. And lastly, the anti doping management will be in their hands. Wow, the prefect crime scene. Only the ignorant punters will suffer and keep finance all these shady illegal betting practices of fixed horse racing. Just like the fixed election of PKJ, similar to the fraudulent election of both Biden’s and Macron’s which were all fixed. Let us now witnessed the fixed license of this second horse racing organiser and let them rip the declining betting revenues there is left.
What this government, the authorities and their funder are not realising, is that they are actively all taking part in the death of the horse racing industry, which the financially weak stables and horse racing owners will never return to horse racing, no matter how big their new stakes money is, or how many new the horse racing tracks they build. But instead, they will loose a considerable amount of horse racing fans from the ageing punters population which Mr Jerome Pilot mentioned in his last interview. Those diehards fans, punters, owners and few trainers are sick of such manipulations from the government and their partners in crime in such a clear agenda and favouritism for their biggest party funder behind the second horse racing organiser, the PTP.
A bit of history …..
Mauritius was first discovered in the tenth century by seaman passing by the island on their travels. It was given the name of Dina Robin, until Portuguese explorers discovered it in 1498. By 1598, it was renamed by the Dutch, and the island exchanged ownership over the years until the British Forces overwhelmed the French in 1810, leading to squabbles and uneasiness between the French colonies and the British invaders. Colonel Edward Alured Draper arrived in Mauritius in 1812, and to calm the storms between the two sides he suggested a horse racing meeting. This led to the French and British getting together in June 1812 for an historical horse racing event that not only turned out to be a huge success but also was the inauguration of the Mauritius Turf Club.
If Colonel Draper was still alive he would have races start without these betting criminals who just wants to enrich themselves and finance their new Racetrack in Balaclava and Cote D’or while leaving all the 300+ MTC staffs and 4000+ families who lives directly and indirectly from races at the Champ De Mars each weekend and who nobody wants to take on their pensions and salaries in the equation.
Here is how we can all help save the heritage of the MTC and secure the future of their entire staffs. As we suggested to their ex acting CEO Mr Jerome Pilot who was himself ousted out last week for doing his job too well, and who also his owned salaries and consultation fees in excess of Rs300,000, which had a mission to save the MTC and the future of horse racing, who approached us to come up with a plan which we are sharing today.
Should the MTC and all their board members want to save 210 years of heritage and save the last paintings on the walls. Well, they needed to organise a crowdfunding campaign to help support the salaries of May so that races can start, legally seek back their license and the race track lease. It would only take one day to create such a crowdfund campaign like we have for our magazine https://gogetfunding.com/mauritiushorse-racing/ and share it online. Such an operation could reach all the international visitors, and the jockeys who rode at the Champ De Mars especially via our super star Jockey Karis Teetan in Singapore and in Europe. That could help the MTC save the job of their employees and start horse racing this June. That would be the best plan to seek locally and internationally to help to save the second oldest horse racing club in the world. We are certain that many will support this injustice and the MTC’s fight for to keep their IP’s, property, employees and save the horse racing heritage which belongs to the MTC.
Should the MTC wins this last battle, then the light forces wins over the dark forces. There is no negotiating here, they must agree under protest to the HRD conditions against the license and shall give access to the stipes room and conform to the other 24 conditions under protest. They must fight for their IP’s and claim damages from this unfair and premeditated malpractice from the Authorities and everything we all witnessed in the last month.
What will happen in the next few days and next week will be the final straight and fate of so many inside the horse racing industry in Mauritius. Let’s hope our article reaches those inside the MTC in time and to the highest World Horse Racing Institutions so they share their views and voice this corruption issue and let’s pray that the MTC /MTCSL will do what is right and necessary for the survival of this horse racing club and not be beggars at the table of their own executors.
